It’s nothing new that there are drastic differences in fashion between men in NY and SF. I just got back from New York Fashion Week and the men were dressed to the “T”. I saw a lot of button down shirts, slacks and leather shoes. Blazers are to NY as hoodies are to San Francsico.
Armani- NY
Some of the more casual looks were untucked button down shirts, rolled up sleeves and well fitting jeans. I even saw a few loosely tied ties. Why is that? Is it because many places in NY have a dress code? Do men feel more pressure to dress up because other men are dressing up? Is it because the financial industry requires suits and ties and then men go out after work? Do men in NY just have a lot of less casual clothing so they wear what they have? I’ll have to head back and find out the answers to these perplexing questions. I’m not even going to get into the Blackberry vs to iPhone culture or the whole dating scene. Let’s just say fashion is just one of the many, many difference between the two cities.
The San Francisco Bay Area is full of tech companies and start-ups , where as you know, the work uniform is uber-casual. While in NY, I realized it’s nice to see guys dressed a little less casual (and not be a VC or in biz dev). I want you to pick a random event you’re going to and wear a slim fitting button down shirt, nice jeans and some leather shoes if you live in the Bay Area. New York-up your ensemble for a day and don’t forget to yell and walk fast.
AWDis Hoodies-SF
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Also – mix it up. Wear a slim-fitting button-down with nice jeans, but sneakers instead of leather shows (make sure the sneakers are “fashion” sneakers not actual running shoes).
Try wearing the button-down tucked out – but only if it’s not too long. To wear a button-down tucked out it needs to be relatively short or it looks sloppy (IMHO). Maybe if you tuck out, wear the nice jeans and leather shoes to balance.
SF fashion is hard. You want casual but chic. Balance the dressy elements with the casual elements.